Kamiak grad to help nation’s dropout crisis

Courtesy of: Alyssa DownerKamiak grad Alyssa Downer will serve as a City Year AmeriCorps member at City Year Los Angeles for the 2012-2013 school year.

A graduate of Kamiak High School has signed up to serve a full year with a non-profit that works with students at risk of dropping out of school.

Alyssa Downer, of Mukilteo, will serve as a City Year AmeriCorps member at City Year Los Angeles for the 2012-2013 school year. Through the education-focused non-profit, teams of diverse young adults commit to a year of full-time service to work with students in the highest need urban schools to keep students on track to graduate.

Dower, who graduated from Kamiak in 2010, chose to dedicate a year of service to have a positive impact on our nation’s dropout crisis.

While attending Kamiak, Alyssa had the opportunity to participate in Leadership, Yearbook, DECA, among other student activities.

“It has always been important to me to give back and to have a positive impact in the world,” Downer said. “I applied to City Year because it provided a diverse experience, everything from working with students to physical service and leadership development. I’m excited to have the opportunity to be a positive role model for kids.”

City Year Corps members, aged 17-24, dedicate a year of full-time service to help students in school by providing individual and school-wide interventions, working alongside teachers and support staff.

Corps members serve as near-peer mentors who support students by focusing on attendance, behavior and course performance through in-class tutoring, mentoring and after school programs.

City Year, founded in 1988, partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention for students most at risk of dropping out.

In more than 20 communities across the United States and through two international affiliates, teams of young AmeriCorps leaders support students by focusing on attendance, behavior, and course performance through in-class tutoring, mentoring, and after school programs that keep kids in school and on track to graduate.